How common is the surname McNeil?

34,368 people in the United States had the surname McNeil in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,984 Americans. It ranked 1,018th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named McNeil?

Lori McNeil, American tennis player, followed by Claudia McNeil.

Where is the surname McNeil most common?

Wikidata records people named McNeil in the United States and Australia.

Is the surname McNeil getting more or less common?

More common. 33,239 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 34,368 in 2010, up 3.4%.

The surname McNeil

A patronymic surname, carried by 34,368 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex M254

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). McNeil is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Néill (“son of Níall”).

McNeil is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 34,368 people named McNeil in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 8,984 Americans. That is up 3.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 33,239.

#1,018

rank among US surnames

34,368

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.4%

change since 2000 (was #961)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,009	Krause	34,722	8,892
#1,010	Baird	34,721	8,892
#1,011	Riggs	34,506	8,948
#1,012	Braun	34,491	8,951
#1,013	Werner	34,488	8,952
#1,014	Quinones	34,468	8,957
#1,015	Saldana	34,434	8,966

Who is named McNeil

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

52% of people named McNeil identified as white (not Hispanic), 42% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 52%
Black (not Hispanic) 42%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 2.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous McNeils

7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Lori McNeil
American tennis player, born 1963
Claudia McNeil
American actress (1917-1993)
Kate McNeil
American actress, born 1959
Loretta McNeil
Athletics competitor (1907–1988)
Catherine McNeil
Australian model (1989-)
Legs McNeil
American writer, born 1956
Jeff McNeil
American baseball player (born 1992)

Notable McNeils come mostly from the United States (6) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like McNeil

McNeil has the Soundex code M254, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M254.

Questions

Where does the surname McNeil come from?: Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Néill (“son of Níall”).
How common is the surname McNeil?: 34,368 people in the United States had the surname McNeil in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,984 Americans. It ranked 1,018th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname McNeil?: In the 2010 Census, 52% of people named McNeil identified as white (not Hispanic), and 42% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named McNeil?: Lori McNeil, American tennis player, followed by Claudia McNeil.
Where is the surname McNeil most common?: Wikidata records people named McNeil in the United States and Australia.
What type of surname is McNeil?: McNeil is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname McNeil getting more or less common?: More common. 33,239 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 34,368 in 2010, up 3.4%.